


The Package

by VirginiasWolf



Series: Life Moves On [11]
Category: Death in Paradise
Genre: Alternate Universe - Richard Poole Lives, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-19 23:49:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20218306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VirginiasWolf/pseuds/VirginiasWolf
Summary: When Catherine bursts into tears while reading a mysterious letter from Camille, which is accompanied by a large package the team becomes concerned about what news she might have received. However, nothing is really as it seems.This work will be part of a non-chronological order series of stories that incorporate the lives of our first DI and DS and how they're moving on away from Saint Marie.





	The Package

**Author's Note:**

> So I bit the bullet and chose to watch further in the series, starting at 4x05 and using a heavy dose of denial to explain exactly where Richard and Camille were and what they were doing together. That being said, I'm not too far in yet so I can't say I've gotten a complete grasp on the personalities of the new team, but I hope I have them down enough that this short drabble does them justice as well as of course doing justice to our dear Richard and Camille. One small detail has now been changed because the rest of the series so far seems to take place over about six months and yet in the original draft of this I'd implied that J.P. had heard that Camille had left Saint Marie over a year earlier.

The package is large, but plainly wrapped, and it is accompanied by a letter. From the surname Bordey, J.P. assumes they must both have come from Catherine's daughter. He doesn't know much about Camille Bordey except that he's of course seen pictures of her, and has heard bits and scraps about how she'd left the island for a job with INTERPOL in Paris several months earlier and how the chief had once had a thing for her. A rumor from Dwayne had also seemed to indicate that the previous chief had felt that way as well.  
Normally, this would be the kind of private mail that he'd leave Catherine to her self with, but after opening the letter, the older woman reads part of the page before suddenly bursting into tears. It's an unusually dramatic reaction, especially from the woman he's used to seeing as so vibrant and stoic and he's unsure of what exactly to do.

  
"Do you want me to get Dwayne from the bar?" He's not sure why he assumes that Dwayne will be the one who can fix everything but isn't he the member of the team who has known Catherine the longest? When Catherine doesn't respond, J.P. adds, more for his own benefit, "All right, I'm going to get Dwayne."

  
Feeling a sudden urgency, he bolts out of the upstairs area and over to the table where the rest of the team is gathered, actually moving so fast that he almost becomes out of breath.

  
"Is something wrong J.P.?" Florence asks, exchanging a confused glance with Dwayne and Humphrey.

  
"Catherine received a letter and a package from her daughter..."

  
"Well, Camille has been a bit tardy with communications, and letters are a bit of a dated form of response, but that's hardly something to get all worked up over. Isn't it?" Humphrey almost looks as if he's perhaps a bit jealous that he hasn't received a letter or a package from Camille.

  
"Is it normal for her to burst into tears while reading a letter?"

  
This catches the entire table's attention. "That definitely isn't normal for Catherine," Dwayne pauses suddenly letting his face grow cold as another more troubling thought comes to mind. What if the letter isn't from Camille at all, but only from someone only using her address to make Catherine feel more at ease before dropping a terrible bombshell. "J.P., how big did you say the package is?" pausing again, he lowers his voice so that his next comment doesn't ruin the mood for all the happy tourists in the bar. Happy tourists who don't need to know that the owner is just now finding out that she's lost her only daughter. "Do you think it was big enough to hold an urn?"

  
The energy of the entire table drops at this suggestion. "I don't know. I suppose it could have been." J.P. falters, "but wouldn't that mean that Catherine's daughter is-?"

  
"I'd like to believe I am completely wrong. We all loved Camille," Dwayne states, "but right now I think it would be best if we go and check on Catherine."

  
By the time the four have managed to all cram into the narrow upstairs hallway, Catherine is still wet-eyed but is about to put aside the letter in favor of turning towards the ominous package.

  
"J.P., try to get behind her in case she faints from grief. Florence, you take the letter from her and the chief and I will try to talk her down," Dwayne instructs in a quiet whisper as they watch the older woman.

  
"I can't begin to imagine the great grief you must be going through Catherine. Well, actually I can imagine because it's Camille, and as you know, she meant a great deal to me too, but your grief is as a parent, so it must still be entirely different from mine..."

  
Catherine's face scrunches up in confusion at Humphrey's attempted words of comfort. "Camille isn't dead, she's gotten married."

  
"Oh, well that's certainly not a situation to grieve over unless your new son-in-law is unlikeable I suppose. Is your new son-in-law unlikeable, because obviously, Camille is an adult woman who can make her own choices, but breaking into tears is a rather strange reaction if you feel fondly about the man."

  
The rest of the team shoots Humphrey a look that seems to be a mix of telling him to stop shoving his foot into his mouth and relief that their dear friend is alive. Luckily, Catherine doesn't seem to notice.

  
"I don't hate my new son-in-law, but I must say he is a bit of a shocking choice for Camille." Instead of explaining further, she allows Florence to take the letter from her, which the younger woman immediately begins to read out loud.

  
"Maman, I hope you have received this letter before the package arrived, or at the very least have chosen to open it first, as I am sure it will make the contents of said package less shocking. I will start by stating that when I landed in Paris, I found someone completely unexpected waiting for me. I know your first instinct will be to be angry at how Richard lied to us all, but it wasn't his fault." at this Florence stops reading. "Who's Richard?" Knowing Camille and how strong-willed she can be, Florence is immediately surprised that the letter is asking forgiveness for a man who has apparently lied to not just one person, but many.

  
Humphrey's expression seems to register that the name sounds vaguely familiar to him, but he can't quite put a face to it. J.P., of course, has no idea what is going on, and Catherine has decided to turn back towards trying to open the package, so Dwayne is the one who answers.

  
"Richard was our old chief. His murder was the chief's first case on the island."

  
Finally putting the pieces together, Humphrey adds, "Which would make it rather strange that Camille is asking for him to be forgiven, especially in a letter about her recent marriage."

  
At this, Catherine smiles patiently as if she's trying to help a small child with a difficult math problem. "Perhaps if Florence were to continue reading..."

  
"At the time that we were all told of his death, he was so badly injured that he couldn't possibly have informed us that this statement was untrue. It took him many months to even awaken from his coma, and by that point, the lie was so deep that even his parents believed it to be true."

  
Florence pauses again as Dwayne murmurs, "Poor Chief. I know he was always a bit of a loner, but that couldn't have been easy on him."

  
"Perhaps you should read the part where it all becomes much more cheerful," Catherine states before adding, "J.P., can you hand me the box cutters?"

  
"Now that I had Richard back in my life, I realized I couldn't let him leave me again, and I took a blind leap even though we were still coworkers. Much to my surprise, he actually agreed to go on a date, although he insisted that he couldn't understand why I'd want to go out with someone like him. Everything progressed so quickly from there, and after less than a year of dating, we decided to get married. It was a small ceremony because as you know he has never been comfortable with a big gathering. We wanted to make sure there was a way for you to feel like you'd been there though, and so we have decided to mail you a copy of our wedding album as well as our engagement photos and a picture of our new flat in London."

  
"Yes! I knew that was going to be what was in the box!" Dwayne pumps a fist in the air as the others look at him as if he's suddenly gone crazy.

  
"I seem to recall you insisting that the package contained cremated human remains," Humphrey quips.

  
"Silence." Catherine's voice is back to its normal intimidating firmness. "There will be no talk of death right now, as I believe we all have a wedding album to look through."


End file.
